Taking the high road

An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. If you do something good for me, I will return the favour. But if you harm me, then I will harm you back. Should the goodness of our actions depend primarily on how others treat us? The all-too-common act of revenge in society, which lives this expression out literally, seems to answer in the affirmative. But as young Catholics, we must be wary of such desires for vengeance.

Revenge focuses on punishing others — making them “pay” for their actions. It is commonplace in society, but because it is rooted in hatred aimed at punishing another person, it is contradictory to Church teaching and tradition.  

In seeking revenge, the avenger becomes the judge and determines the punishment.

Some examples are more extreme than others, such as capital punishment and murder for vengeance, such as the recent killing of Osama bin Laden. Hatred is often a feeling that arises towards those individuals who commit atrocious acts in the world. As a response, revenge is pursued to quench the hatred, and supposedly, achieve justice.

However, revenge is not just an abstract topic played out on a large scale.

There are examples of revenge that we may experience at home, school or by means of the Internet. For instance, due to the lack of direct personal contact, online social networking tools make it easy for youth to pursue revenge. After all, it is easier to be mean to someone through typing a message about that person, rather than saying something directly to that individual. The Internet is a powerful resource for spreading all types of information, whether that information is useful or harmful

As Catholic youth, we must keep in mind that rather than wrongly criticizing others, our challenge is to keep our focus, our words and actions on God.  

It is worthwhile to make a distinction between revenge and other forms of punishment. Revenge is not a form of punishment or discipline meant to let the person realize their actions were wrong. For example, is a parent punishing a child for disobeying, lying, using violence or doing something else that the parent has deemed to be incorrect? There is a different mindset in this case. This is teaching a lesson for the well-being of the person, not something rooted in hatred and anger.

The Catholic Church does not support revenge. In The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 2262 refers to Christ asking His disciples to turn the other cheek and love their enemies. Can we identify individuals in our lives who take this message to heart? Do we remember Christ’s message when we are tempted to pursue revenge, regardless of the circumstances?  

Revenge might seem to bring temporary satisfaction to the avenger, but it essentially brings up the issue of correcting a wrong with another wrong: the vengeful act. Does this type of petty act ultimately solve the problem? Hardly.(Gagliano, 20, is a life sciences student at the University of Toronto.)